This year, I find my thoughts focused on what I do and do not have. Most people at some time or another feel a bit deprived. We all know people who just seem to have more than we do. They live in bigger homes, wear better quality clothes, drive newer cars, and take longer vacations to more inviting places. Meanwhile, we sacrifice, pray, and volunteer all kinds of time at church and perhaps community organizations, too, but seem to go without the things we want—sometimes without things we feel we really, really need.

These thoughts bring Jonah to mind. God gave him three days of time-out, so to speak, in the whale. There, during the quiet minutes and hours, he could meditate on what God wanted for him and from him. Or consider that Jesus himself spent 40 days in the desert, praying and reflecting and sacrificing even while Satan worked to dissuade him from God’s eternal plan that Jesus suffer and die to win our salvation.

As I reflect during Lent this year, my goal is to focus more on what God in his perfect love wants for me, letting that inform what I might think I need or want for myself.

God forced Jonah to contemplate. Jesus did it willingly. How about you? What might your Savior want to tell you? How might he want to change you? The weeks ahead are a perfect time to open your heart to his Word and find out.

Editor’s note: CTA’s new devotion book, “Power of the Cross,” would make the perfect guide and companion as you and others in your church meditate on the meaning of Jesus’ death during Lent this year. It’s not too late to order copies for your group or your whole congregation!

This picture of God, mistaken though it is, nonetheless captures the view of many people still today whom we might call “cultural Christians.” Folks like these have a passing acquaintance with Christianity and perhaps a tie to the church through a pious parent or godly grandparent, but no real grasp of the Holy Scriptures or of what our Lord Jesus truly taught.

Sadly, this picture of God has sometimes poisoned the original intent of potentially powerful customs in the church. Take Lent, for instance. We can tell what our culture thinks about it by watching the excesses of Mardi Gras. The drunkenness and other debauchery, lasting in some places for weeks, seems to say something like this: “Let’s get in all the sin we can before Lent arrives and God’s angry fist descends to destroy our fun.”

While some Christians observe Lent and others do not, we all do well to prepare our hearts for the glorious celebration of our Savior’s resurrection at Easter. Such preparation goes much deeper than a superficial decision to “give up chocolate” for six weeks. The early Christian church used the 40 days before Easter to rehearse the key teachings of Christ and all he has done to rescue us from sin and death. New believers were instructed in the faith; more mature believers made use of this time of preparation to review the basics of Christianity they had come to confess as truth. 

Think of it this way: Medical doctors often treat patients with a newly diagnosed chronic illness. High blood pressure, for instance. After a week or two on medication, the patient’s symptoms begin to fade away. Some patients interpret this as a miraculous cure —and stop taking the medicine. The symptoms come roaring back, sometimes with disastrous results. Call it denial. Call it a failure to communicate. Call it what you will, the doctor shakes her head and the patient bears the consequences.

The spiritual version of this scenario may occur even more often. Pastors and other Christian workers face it all the time. The Holy Spirit leads a person to recognize her sin and her need for the salvation Jesus has won for us. She relies fully on the blood of Christ shed for us on his cross. True peace cascades into this believer’s heart and life.

Yet after a week or two, a month or two, life seeps slowly back into a routine, a kind of “new normal.” Satan subtly slips the key truths of repentance and faith out from her field of awareness. She—or should I say we, for it happens to all of us—fail to notice because we’re focusing on other areas of our busy lives. Without realizing it, we’ve stumbled back under the Law, back under the bondage of trying and of trying harder to please God.

Instead of recognizing the truth that in Christ, God is already pleased with us, we labor under what St. Paul calls in Galatians 3 the “foolishness” of works (vv. 2–3), the “curse of the law” (vv. 10–14). At heart, this curse involves primarily the burden of shouldering the doleful “have-tos,” “shoulds,” and “musts” that Satan hangs over our heads like an eternal sword of Damocles.

•  In Christ and his cross, God is already pleased with us—with you! He takes as much pleasure in you right this moment as he will on that day he welcomes you into his eternal presence in the heavenly home. His love is an everlasting love that began in eternity past and will never change (Jeremiah 31:3; Malachi 3:6; Ephesians 1:3–4).
• In Christ and his cross, your sins are gone. They have disappeared into the sea of God’s forgetfulness (Micah 7:19). God has removed them as far from you as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

 Our culture, of course, fails to understand this kind of love and forgiveness. Even our own minds boggle at it sometimes. Consider, for example, Romans 4:5: 

To the [person] who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness (NIV, emphasis added).

 God justifies the wicked! Think of it! If we were good, we wouldn’t need a Savior! As we prepare for Easter, we do so remembering how much we truly need Jesus. We go back to the basic truths of sin and salvation. We recall that, though we once slaved for sin and Satan, we do so no longer. We instead revel in the deep, deep love of Jesus who died for us “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NIV).

 And we exercise the freedom that’s ours in Christ for all it’s worth! Our heavenly Father wants our spiritual walk to be the exciting, joy-filled adventure of being who we are in Christ. We no longer have to do good works to earn our salvation. Instead, we get to! We can! We want to! (And for those times when our sinful nature tempts us not to want to, we have the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit working in us to renovate our desires.) Only the children of God can understand the joy of the psalmist:

I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free (Psalm 119:32 NIV).

Like children at 3:30 pm on the last day of school as summer vacation begins, we race down the steps and out the front door, free from assignments and term papers and the tardy bell. We get to do what we want. And what we want to do is to run in the path of Christlikeness, because at the cross, our Lord Jesus has set our hearts free.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

You are welcome to copy this devotion for one-time use in your organization as long as you will receive no monetary benefit from it. Please include this copyright line and submit an actual copy of use to CTA, attention Editorial Manager.

Used with permission grant #041008. © 2008 CTA, Inc. No duplication of this devotion is allowed without the express written consent of CTA, PO Box 1205, Fenton, MO 63026. www.CTAinc.com.

Introduction

In just a few days we will celebrate Christmas. For most of us, Christmas is more than just one day; it is an entire season filled with so many different sights and sounds and memories. Just about everyone seems to have favorite foods, activities, and family traditions. For most of us, Christmas is a time of joy, excitement, and anticipation. Take a moment and think about some of the things that make Christmas special for you.

 (Pause—if time allows you might invite a few people to share with the group.)

One of the many traditions Christians have is gift giving. Many of us spend hours planning what we will give and anticipating what we will receive. Giving and receiving gifts is one way we show our love for one another. And yet, if I were to ask you to tell me one gift you received or even gave last Christmas, could you do it? Perhaps a few of you could, but by now most of those gifts have been forgotten, used up, or broken.

Getting to the Heart

Remembering what we received last year can be a challenge, but there is one gift that we cannot forget; indeed, it is the very reason we celebrate!

The whole idea of gift-giving began in the heart of the One who made us. In the beginning God created the world and everything in it out of pure love for us. He created Adam and Eve and all living things. When he was finished, “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

But as we know, it didn’t stay good. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and since then, each one of us has done the same. Our sin separates us from God. The sin in our hearts leads us to commit all kinds of sins that hurt us and those around us. Our sin breaks God’s heart. Yet, because of his great love for us, God devised a plan to save us from the punishment we deserved, a plan to bring us back to himself.

Isn’t it interesting to know God created us with the full knowledge that our sin would mean the death of his Son? Right from the start God knew the sacrifice he would have to make, and yet he did it anyway. Why? Because “God is love” (1 John 4:8), and from all eternity, he intended to share his love with us. God’s great love came to us as a Gift, the Gift of a tiny Baby born more than 2,000 years ago!

That first Christmas was so unlike the holiday we celebrate today. There were no sparkly lights, no warm food, no parties, and no tinsel or glitter. Instead, a man and woman, a group of shepherds, some barn animals, and one carol—the praise chorus offered by the angels—heralded the Gift, the baby Jesus. It is amazing to think that God would be so quiet about the event he had been planning since before the creation!

It is difficult to understand why God chose to send Jesus the way he did, but maybe the answer can come from what the angels said. As the shepherds watched their flocks out in the dark field that night, suddenly the sky lit up, and “the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11).

The message was for “all people,” but it was also a very personal, individual Gift. God could have shared the news with the whole world at once. Instead, he sent his messengers to a lonely field outside of Bethlehem, to a group of lowly shepherds. Those shepherds believed the message and went to see the baby. There, beside the tiny manger, they received the Gift of Jesus! Afterward, they went on to share the Gift with all the people they met, one by one.

Taking It Home

The Gift of Jesus is for you! Jesus came as a baby for you with the expressed purpose to save you from your sin. Perhaps the best known verse in the Bible is John 3:16:

 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

You may know that verse from memory, but today, right now, I want you make sure you know it not only in your head, but also in your heart. I want you to know that it is for you! If you were the only person on earth, the only person in need of God’s forgiveness and salvation, he still would have made the sacrifice. He would have sent his Son for just one, for just you. Jesus would have gone through all of that pain and suffering just for you and only for you.

In fact, while he was on the cross, bearing your sin, he thought of you! He stayed on the cross out of love for you! He died for you, and he rose again to give life to you! Now that is a gift worth remembering!

This devotion is adapted from This Gift Is for You © 2005 CTA, Inc. You are welcome to copy this article for one-time use in your organization as long as you will receive no monetary benefit from it. Please include this copyright line and submit an actual copy of use to CTA, attention Editorial Manager.

Used with permission grant #122209. © 2009 CTA, Inc. No duplication of this article is allowed without the express written consent of CTA, PO Box 1205, Fenton, MO 63026-1205. www.CTAinc.com.

Scripture quotations are from the King James or Authorized Version of the Bible.

Joy should be everywhere, shouldn’t it? Digging out from all the December craziness, we realize Christmas isn’t just a special day on the calendar. We’re journeying to Bethlehem in faith to kneel in awe and adoration at the little baby feet of the world’s Savior, Jesus Christ. We celebrate God’s gift of love, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, his gift that brings joy from heaven to earth. Jesus brings joy for the world—for everyone, everywhere. 

Jesus brings joy and blessings abound—enough for everyone! Maybe joy comes to you in new memories you create with relatives from out of town, in an unexpected bonus you receive at work, or in an extra measure of the Christmas spirit you feel in your heart.

Still, even with joy surrounding us, some of us  experience the “merry side of Christmas,” only to slide quickly into despair. Our fa’s are strong early in the season, but before long, our la’s fall flat. Some of us find our joy crumpled up like a pile of discarded post-Christmas wrapping paper.

Are you lip-syncing both the fa’s and the la’s, hoping others don’t notice your struggle to smile? Certainly, not everyone agrees that it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Christmastime can be a highly charged, emotional time. So many variables toy with our level of joy. Think about it . . .

• Some dread their first Christmas without someone they loved, while others anticipate their first Christmas with someone they love.
• Some receive a helpful end-of-the-year financial windfall, while others find themselves falling more and more into debt with no help in sight.
• Some find the season invigorating, while others find it nerve-racking.
• Some couples celebrate their first Christmas as husband and wife, while others experience their first as ex-husband and ex-wife.
• Some come to life, surrounded with people, while others come to deal with loneliness, even when surrounded by people.
• Some feel overly blessed, while others feel overly stressed.

As we come to adore our Savior, each of us brings blessings as well as burdens to the manger. So let’s pause in our journey to the manger to notice the people around us. We’re traveling together, and it’s important to realize we all travel by faith. We come, only because the divine Child first journeyed from heaven to earth. His birth, death, and resurrection conquers loneliness, anxiety, stress, and all our other burdens.

 Jesus’ gift isn’t necessarily a jump-up-and-down joy, although it certainly can be that. It’s primarily a joy that settles deep in our hearts. It’s a joyful, contented peace. This divine present comes with Jesus’ presence.

Jesus brings joy to the world. He also brings joy for the world. He knows our world is filled with sin and its accompanying heartache, pain, and grief. But let there be no doubt that he’s also intimately aware of every breath you take, every word you speak, and every situation you face. And he’s aware of your need for joy. So he wraps his miraculous joy within his gifts of forgiveness, help, and hope. It’s true! Jesus brings joy for the world—for everyone, everywhere.

Come and receive. Come and worship.

Come and go . . . sharing his gifts.

Editor’s note: Several Joy for the World gifts are available from CTA this Christmas. Get yours before they’re gone!

© 2007 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for ruse within a church or other Christian organization.

 The Scripture quotation is from the King James or Authorized Version.

This time of year, many of us give gifts. In fact, most of us probably give more gifts at Christmastime than at any other time of the year. Gift giving has its own protocol. If we fail to follow it, that failure can lead to some uncomfortable moments—for us, for our friends, or for both!

For example, we don’t want to embarrass someone by giving them a gift when they have not planned to get anything for us. On the other hand, we don’t want to be caught empty-handed when a friend rings our doorbell, brightly wrapped gifts for every member of our family piled high in her arms. Some people I know (maybe some of you, too?) buy an extra generic gift or two to keep gift wrapped in a dresser drawer for just such an emergency!

Another thing. We want the gifts we give someone else to cost roughly what we imagine they will spend on us. It wouldn’t do to give someone a box of candy and then receive in return that antique baseball card we have been looking for since 1981 that sells for $815 on eBay!

And finally, as the Emily Post Institute makes clear, we would never, ever, ever try to “re-gift” a present we have received, unless we can be 210% certain that the person who gave it to us will never find out.

Getting to the Heart

God gives gifts at Christmastime, too, just like we do. (And throughout the year as well, of course!) But He stands our gift-giving rules right on their heads. He ignores the rules about “not giving more than you will receive.” He never warehouses generic blessings to have in stock in case He receives an unexpected gift. No, He gives and gives and gives and keeps on giving to those of us who live on earth, to people totally undeserving of those gifts—people totally incapable of “payback.”

We certainly have not earned our heavenly Father’s generosity. In fact, we have often defied His commands. We have, in selfishness, taken advantage of His goodness and sometimes even presumed on His mercy. Our heavenly Father knew we would do this. Still, He gave His most priceless possession to us anyway—His only Son, our Savior, Jesus.

In 2 Corinthians 9:15, Paul writes, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” Let me set these words in context. Paul’s exclamation follows a “thank-you note” of sorts. At a time when the believers in Jerusalem had faced a serious lack of food, clothing, and other life necessities, the church in Corinth had come through for them—and had come through generously. So as Paul wrote about other matters, he also tucked in a paragraph of special thanks. Keep in mind that he himself had helped to organize the help drive in the first place.

The apostle doesn’t stop with a simple “thank you” though. He also wants his readers to know many people will praise God for their generosity. He wants them to know that the Jerusalem Christians will, in turn, pray for them. (Just imagine how surprising this sounded in that time and culture: Jews praying for Gentiles, Gentiles supporting Jews!)

Finally, Paul adds that the generosity of the believers in Corinth wasn’t something they dreamed up on their own or something they accomplished out of their own holy intentions. Rather, it came about almost incidentally as God’s love overflowed into their lives. Their generosity was created by the brimming-over, more-than-abundant grace of God at work in their hearts. It resulted from all the many gifts God had given, especially the gift of Jesus, the Savior, and His cross, the fountain from whom all blessings flow. That’s when Paul exclaims, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

God’s good gifts—especially the gift of Jesus—defy description. One dictionary defines indescribable as referring to “a thing of untellable splendor.” Doesn’t that fit just perfectly? The forgiveness of sins, peace with God, the hope that defeats even death itself—these are things of “untellable splendor.” And all of them—all of them—came down to earth at Christmas when love came down—wrapped in the swaddling cloths of Bethlehem’s baby boy! Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

We celebrate that gift, especially at Christmas time! We sing! We praise! We act in love toward our co-workers, toward others in our family, and with our neighbors and friends.

Even better, this is one gift we can “re-gift,” worry free! In fact, the Holy Spirit urges us to give this gift away generously, to give it to others as we share our Lord’s unbelievable love with everyone around us. Miracle of miracles, the more we share God’s indescribable gift, the more we have for ourselves. The more we give it away, the more brightly and warmly His love burns in our hearts, despite the winter chill outside. What an indescribable gift!

We can never pay that gift back. We can never compensate the Gift Giver, and so, we “pay it forward.” We pass it on to everyone around us, to those in need of the Good News Jesus has brought into our own lives.

The Scripture quotation is from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 2008 CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted only to the original purchaser and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale.

#CGJ8DA

www.CTAinc.com

1-800-999-1874

“I thank Thee that I have never been robbed before. I thank Thee that even though they took my purse, they did not take my life. I thank Thee that though they took my all, it was not much. I thank Thee that it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed.”

 This almost unbelievable prayer reminds us that we always have something for which to thank our Lord. . . .

Read the rest of this devotion from CTA’s collection of free downloadable Ministry Messages. Pastors, are you looking for a jumpstart for your Thanksgiving Day sermon? You may find some ideas here! (Scroll down to find the Thanksgiving collection.)

• Those volunteers at your church do so much. You want to remember them at Christmas with a meaningful gift. But what!?
• You work with a great group of professionals on your church staff. You want to share your respect and affection for them this Christmas. But how?!
• The teachers and Sunday school teachers, janitors, and teacher aides make an enormous impact on the families and young people of your church, parish school, and community. You want to encourage them all with Jesus’ love. But the budget won’t cooperate. So now what?!

Scenarios just like these led CTA to create and trademark the very first Ornaments of Faith® in 2002. Since then, they’ve become a year by year favorite of CTA customers. Are you among our fans yet?

Here’s what CTA co-founder, Steve Darr, says about these popular products:

The purpose of the Ornament of Faith® products is to provide unique and attractive ornaments to encourage the faith of believers and to plant the seeds of faith in pre-Christians.  We do this by combining traditional Christmas and biblical symbols designed in interesting and engaging ways and packaged attractively with a simple poem and corresponding Scripture. 

All these elements work together to share the truth about Christmas and the good news of Christ’s coming.  Ornaments of Faith® products include children’s ornaments, unique ornament Christmas cards, as well as a line of quality pewter –finished ornaments manufactured in the U.S.A.    

 It seems so natural now that a company like CTA would offer Christian Christmas ornaments, but seven years ago, it was unheard of—especially at a price under $4.00 per ornament. What set off the spark  that brought this idea into reality?     

Steve says:

We started very modestly with the Ornaments of Faith® line by producing a couple of unique designs in various types of materials.  We found that customers really seemed to appreciate the pewter-finish ornaments the most, and thus we have responded to that feedback by providing even more unique and purposeful designs that that could use to encourage the faith. 

Many customer have started collecting these ornaments and purchase them annually to give each Christmas. Our customers really seem to appreciate the value and the purposeful designs of the Ornaments of Faith® that our product development team creates each year.

Looking for a unique and meaningful gift for all those colleagues who mean so much to you and add so much to your ministry? Take a look at this year’s Ornaments of Faith® collection. You won’t be disappointed!

View a video about this year’s Ornaments of Faith®.

View a video about how one pastor has built a tradition around Ornaments of Faith®.

As a CSR for CTA, I recently talked with pastor who had just read, Grieving with Hope . . . Leaning on Jesus. He passed it on—to a family grieving the loss of a child several years ago. The family came back a few days later to say, in essence, “We so wish we had read this at the time of our child’s death!”

Grief seldom evaporates the day after the funeral! Many people continue to grieve for months and even years. Experts in grief tell us that individuals each grieve in their own way, following their own timetable.

Do you have friends who struggle with grief? When you act in faith, our Savior will step in to care for those whose lives you touch. It’s never too late to bring the hope of Jesus to those who are grieving.

Editor’s Note: CTA’s Grieving with Hope . . . Leaning on Jesus has become a best-seller in only a few months! It costs much less than most sympathy cards and it comes with an envelop for easy mailing.  The Christ-centered message coupled with four-color, eye-striking photos, make it a truly valuable ministry tool! Churches, Stephen Ministers, chaplains, and others will want to buy a case to have on hand.

• The happy lick of a puppy’s tongue.
• That week we spent in bed with chicken pox at age seven.
• The tottering gait of our child’s first step.
• The splendor of a path cut through a yellow, orange, green, brown forest.
• The agony of sacrifice that backlights, as it were, our nation’s flag whenever we sing the national anthem.

 As we pause in November to give thanks for the hundred thousand blessings our Lord so freely pours into our lives, we can thank him also for the gift of memory, the ability to recall individual instances of his goodness. Listen to these familiar words in which the psalmist David recounts God’s blessings, remembering specific gifts from God’s hand:

Praise the LORD , O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:2-5 NIV)

 Wonderful as it is to remember, how terrible life would be without the ability to forget! Part of the appeal of “the good old days” comes from the fact that our minds tend to remember the good times and forget the bad ones! We remember the ice cream and the cartoon marathons from our chicken pox days, but forget the itchiness, the fever, and the arithmetic make-up work.

 Much more seriously, those who survive the trauma of war or abuse yearn to wipe the  dark memories from their consciousness. With Job, they ache to “forget [their] trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by” (Job 11:16 NIV). 

As God’s people, we celebrate our Lord’s willingness to remember—to remember his covenant love toward us in Christ Jesus from now into eternity:

He remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded, for a thousand generations. (1 Chronicles 16:15 NIV)

 As God’s people, we also celebrate his promise to forget—for Jesus’ sake! Twice the writer to the Hebrews repeats these sweet words:

[T]heir sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.  (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17 KJV)

In light of what we remember and what we have forgotten, in light of what our Savior remembers and what he promises to forget, we have much for which to give thanks—this Thanksgiving month and every day!

Looking for Christ-centered inserts to add to the Thanksgiving baskets your church will distribute this month? Check out the value-priced items CTA offers!

As you walk or run today, think about the Scripture below. Ask yourself the questions. Talk with Jesus about your answers. Enjoy your time with your Savior! 

[Jesus] went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. (Matthew 14:23 NIV)

Runners (and often walkers, too) pay particular attention to their knees. Knee injuries can ruin an athletic career or an exercise program. 

† As I serve today in Jesus’ steps, how diligent am I in my “knee work”? 

† When have I seen my Savior respond to my prayers? What do I want to say to him about that today?

 Lord Jesus, you graciously choose to hear my prayers. You promise that my prayers touch your heart. Lord, teach me to pray, just as you taught your first disciples to pray. Amen.